


Communication Breakdown

by orphan_account



Series: Stark Tower Snapshots [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Allusion to Tony/Rhodey, F/F, OT3, Polyamory, Tony Stark & Pepper Potts friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 10:44:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5287643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony figures everything out before the three of them do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Communication Breakdown

Pepper was fairly sure that Natasha and Maria were dating now, and she hated how much that ate her up inside. They were free to do whatever they wanted, and she wasn't entitled to anything. It was her fault for being so silly as to crush on two women at the same time, anyway. That didn't stop her from being moody and keeping only to her office, however. They could have their little tryst without her, but she wasn't going to look at it.

Someone entered her office door without knocking, and she already knew who it was. She didn't have it in her to be irritated with the interruption, and to be honest, she was glad to see a friend. She and Tony had broken up after the events of Extremis,  and Tony had rekindled things with Rhodey instead. T hey had remained good friends,  though,  and Pepper was glad she still had him around. Even if he didn't remember to do things like knock.

“Y'know, Pep, usually I'm the one who sulks.” Tony leaned on the doorframe, giving her a bit of a look. Pepper scowled.

“I'm not sulking. I'm working overtime.” Okay, maybe she _was_ sulking, but it was embarrassing to have it pointed out like that. Tony raised his eyebrows, and then he closed the door behind him, sitting down in front of Pepper's desk.

“Come on, tell me what's wrong,” Tony said, and then he frowned. “If it's something I did, I should probably get out of here before you get mad, but I'm getting the feeling it has nothing to do with me.” Tony was going to make Pepper tell him what was going on, wasn't he? Pepper grimaced, knowing he wouldn't leave until he got the details. 

“It's silly. I'll get over it.” Pepper looked back down at her paperwork, but Tony didn't move. Sighing, she set it aside and looked back up at him. “What do you want me to tell you? It's not like talking will make it better.”

“Is this about Maria?” Tony lounged back in his chair, eyeing her, and Pepper couldn't quite conceal her embarrassed cringe. “Or Natasha?” If this had been anyone else, Pepper would have yelled at him to get the hell out already. 

“Both. Which isn't exactly your business, I might add.” Pepper meant for her tone to sound snippy, but it just sounded a little pathetic. The look of pity Tony gave her was also pathetic, and she really wished she could go back to her work now. 

“What's the problem, then? Did you have an argument or something?”

“No, they're...I think they're dating.” Pepper huffed a little. “And I'm a little jealous. Okay? Laugh at me all you want.” To her surprise, Tony's expression changed to something like a lightbulb going off, rather than laughing at her. 

“I _thought_ so!” Tony pointed a finger at her, and Pepper wrinkled her nose. 

“What, have you caught me in the act or something?” Pepper was still waiting for him to make fun of her, at least a little. After all, it was pretty undignified for someone who took things as seriously as she did, to have a crush on two people at once. Or to have a crush at all. This wasn't high school, after all.

“No, no, I just suspected, that's all.” Tony settled back in his chair, looking like he was thinking about something. “I wouldn't rule them out. I don't really know how you'd manage doing that with three people, but you can manage an entire company, so I figure a threesome is a little easier than that. Well, not a threesome, a relationship, but you know what I meant. Not saying you shouldn't have threesomes, though. Okay, stopping myself before I jam my foot further into my mouth.” Pepper blinked, trying not to imagine that mental image. 

“Why don't you think I should rule them out? I'm pretty sure they're a thing now,” Pepper said, trying not to get her hopes up too much. Tony stood up, shooting her a grin and a wink.

“Just a hunch. Unless you prefer sulking in your office.” His grin changed to a smile that was a little warmer, and he gave her a little wave as he left. “You might be surprised. Feel better, Pep.”

Pepper watched him as he went, trying to process everything that he had just said. He was being infuriatingly vague, and if he knew for sure that Maria or Natasha had feelings for her, he probably would have told her explicitly. So he was probably operating on intuition here. While his intuition was good, there was definitely a chance he could be wrong, and if she took that chance, she might make a complete fool of herself. 

Regardless, she found she was unable to concentrate on work any longer, Tony's words running through her mind. Then it occurred to her that it was Friday, and that she was supposed to go out with Maria and Natasha for dinner. In about twenty minutes.  _ Shit.  _

Pepper rushed to get ready, wishing she wasn't quietly freaking out about all of this right now. From what she had gathered, Maria and Natasha had only gotten together this week, and their last dinner together had lacked that dynamic. Now, however, things had changed, and Pepper wasn't sure how well she was going to be able to handle it. Either way, she couldn't turn them down, and she  _ did _ want to see them, so she rushed down to their usual restaurant in her business outfit, hoping she didn't look completely terrible.

Maria and Natasha were already there when she arrived, and Pepper tried to stifle the wave of jealousy that threatened to overtake her. They weren't giving any indication right now that they were a couple, but Pepper's reaction was a bit involuntary. She managed a smile for them, though, sitting down across from them.

“Sorry I'm late, I was working overtime and got a little caught up in it. Thankfully, Tony reminded me and I was able to get here on time,” Pepper said. Something twitched a little in Maria's face at the mention of Tony, and Natasha didn't look very pleased at the mention of her friend, either. 

“Did I say something wrong?” It seemed strange that they were this irritated with her for being late. They all were accustomed to working overtime, and they knew things like this happened. Then it clicked in her brain, along with what Tony had said earlier. _Oh._

“No, just...” Maria looked like she was holding something back, and then she went ahead and spit it out. “Are you still dating him? Natasha and I have been trying to figure that out for ages now.” Pepper was so relieved she almost laughed.

“Oh god, no. He's with Rhodey now, and we're just friends,” Pepper said, and then she frowned. “The idea of me dating Tony sure makes you two look sour. Is there a reason for that?” There. She had done _something_ , at least, even if she hadn't explicitly brought the topic up. Maria looked to Natasha, who was looking a little skittish. There was a long silence, and they seemed to be waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Natasha blurted something out.

“We want to date you. But we thought you were with Tony.” Natasha looked like a spooked rabbit, and Maria put her hand over Natasha's to calm her. Now, though, the sight didn't make Pepper feel jealous, although she wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling. Shock, mostly. That was definitely not what she had expected either of them to say. 

“You...both want to date me?” Pepper felt her face flush, and her voice was far shakier than she was used to. Her business partners would laugh their asses off if they heard her like this. “I thought you were dating each other. You've been acting like that all week.” Now it was Maria who blushed, something Pepper had never thought she'd see. It was actually pretty cute.

“Were we that obvious?” Maria looked vaguely mortified, and Natasha laughed a little.

“You were, probably. But I don't think I was.”

“You were, Nat. Spy or no,” Pepper said, and Natasha's face was priceless.

“You – you haven't answered the question,” Natasha diverted the subject a little, putting Pepper back on the spot. Pepper floundered again, and then managed to force words out of her mouth.

“I honestly can't believe you just asked me that, but yes. Yes, I would like to date the two of you,” Pepper said. “And if we're dumping embarrassing secrets here, I have been attracted to you both for months. Just so you know.” Pepper was wondering if this was all some bizarre fever dream. This couldn't really be happening, could it? Maria's and Natasha's faces both lit up at her confession, though, and Pepper felt warmth spread through her chest. Maybe this _was_ real. 

“I didn't think she'd actually say yes.” Maria looked to Natasha, looking genuinely baffled, but a little giddy too. “What do we do now?” 

“I know what we do now.” Natasha got a smile on her face that made Pepper go red all over again, and then Pepper felt like she was about to spontaneously combust as Natasha leaned across to kiss Maria on the mouth. Before she could properly react to that, then Natasha's lips were on _hers_ , and all coherent thoughts left her brain. When Natasha broke away, Pepper was breathless, and it took her a moment to notice that Natasha was still looking at her expectantly. 

“Now you two.” Natasha gestured at Maria, and Pepper realized what she was implying. Maria looked just as dazed as Pepper did, and they both hesitated, too shy to make the first move. 

“Oh, come on.” Natasha moved her hands up to rest in each woman's hair, and then gently nudged their heads together. Pepper leaned in to kiss Maria for the sole reason of trying to prevent their teeth from smacking together, but then she kissed her for real, feeling any residual jealousy wash away and never return. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this blissful. She just thanked the stars above that their booth in the restaurant was pretty private. 

“There you go. Good job.” Natasha laughed a little, pleased. “Next time, I hope I won't have to push your heads together.” She hesitated. “There _will_ be a next time, right?” 

Pepper nodded, along with Maria.

“Definitely a next time.” 


End file.
